Nabil+Ghali

toc No matter how often the authorities smack down Nabil Ghali, he's bound to pop up someplace else sooner or later. Where is he now? Your guess is as good as mine, but odds are he's doing abortions someplace. It seems to be a habit he just can't break.

I did a sort of [|Nabil Ghali retrospective] in a feature, [|Alice in Dadeland]. In a nutshell, he had gotten in trouble for botching obstetric cases, including a case in which a woman died, and for [|having sex with his 14-year-old goddaughter]. With things looking bleak for him in Kentucky, he boogied off to Florida and worked for the colorful Betty Eason at her [|Dadeland] abortion mill.

When Dadeland was shut down by the IRS for unpaid taxes, Eason bought her equipment back, re-hired Ghali, and was back in business as Women's Service Center. But Ghali wasn't dependent on Betty Eason to keep him busy. He managed to get into a lot of trouble entirely on his own.

Ghali opened his own Miami area abortion facility, Blue Coral Medical Center. It was shut down under an emergency order describing "deplorable conditions," including a suction device with green mold growing in it, improperly discarded bloodstained sponges, generally poor infection control, about 70 different kinds of medication with expired dates, unsafely administered general anesthesia, stirrups covered with blood, and untrained workers monitoring women in recovery.

One of the inspectors told the Miami Herald, "When we got there, there wasn't any soap in the place, so our inspectors had to go next door to wash their hands." But despite the conditions at Blue Coral, it was re-opened under stipulations. (Miami Herald 9-28-89, 1-4-90; Panama City News Herald 9-28-89)

Wherever Ghali went, women suffered.

=Ghali's Lawsuits =

A patient I'll call "Pamela" said that she went to Women's Medical Center of Miami July 5, 1987, for a pregnancy test. Ghali had her sign a consent form for both the pregnancy test and for an abortion before the test was even performed. Although the urine pregnancy test was negative, Pamela was not informed, and Ghali performed an abortion anyway. After Pamela was discharged, she suffered abdominal pain, bleeding, fever, chills, and purulent discharge, and was admitted to North Shore Hospital July 8 for dilation and curettage, culdocentesis, laparoscopy, left ovarian wedge resection, and lysis of adhesions. Her uterus was discovered to be perforated in three places. And it turned out that Pamela had not been pregnant at all. (Dade County Circuit Court Case #89-49634)

A patient I'll call "Charice" sued Ghali, saying that she went for an abortion at Ladies First Medical Group. Ghali diagnosed her pregnancy as 12-13 weeks, then sent her home and told her she could return to work. She collapsed the next day and hemorrhaged. Doctors treating her removed the remains of a 22-week dismembered fetus from her uterus. (Broward County Florida Case No. 84-021941)

A patient I'll call "Priscilla" said that Ghali performed an abortion on her at The Ladies Center (which is also Ladies First Medical Group) on February 26, 1986. She experienced continued pregnancy symptoms afterward. Later, an ultrasound performed at North Shore Medical center revealed an ectopic pregnancy, and a second ultrasound five days later was interpreted as uterine pregnancy. Priscilla returned to Ghali March 26 for a second abortion during which Ghali perforated her uterus. Priscilla hemorrhaged, and as a result required blood transfusions and an emergency hysterectomy. Her law suit also charges failure to take proper history and perform proper examination, failure to obtain informed consent, failure to provide adequate follow-up. Ghali moved for dismissal. (Dade County Circuit Court Case No. 88-06307)

The Ladies Center  The Ladies Center aka Ladies First was another Dadeland, without the colorful Betty Eason. It was closed by the board of health in 1989 after inspectors found dead cockroaches in the sterilizing room, unsanitary surgical gloves, expired drugs, and equipment that was still bloody two days after it was last used. There was no hot water or soap at the clinic's sinks. A device that is inserted into the patient's nose during general anesthesia was found lying of the floor, still hooked to a hose that had been used on a patient. Gauze pads that were supposed to be sterile were stained yellow. Patient records were lying about in plain sight. There were dirty socks on the recovery room floor. Inspectors found "hundreds of medicines and medical supplies that had expired years ago and other medications with no expiration date, indicating they were manufactured before 1978." The Health Secretary said that Ladies First was "just filthy, the worst I've seen." Another health inspector said, "I spent years inspecting clinics in prisons all through Florida. And we wouldn't have waited a minute to close a prison clinic long before it ever looked this bad. I couldn't believe how bad this place was. But a cleaning lady told a reporter, "I think the charges are really exaggerated. We did the best we can. It's not really that bad, the way they say it." Ladies First was re-opened under stipulations. (Miami Herald 10-2-89, 1-4-90; Associated Press, 10-6-89)

While Ladies First was wrestling with Florida over its problems, Ghali and the Florida medical board wrestled over his license. They had revoked it in 1987 after learning about the sexual escapade with his goddaughter, and after learning that he'd lied about how often he'd been sued in Kentucky.

So Ghali sued the medical board, alleging that their action was based on anti-Arab bias. Ghali's attorney was quoted in the Miami Herald as saying, "We believe the proceedings were unfair and violated his rights to due process. We will pursue those issues as long and as far as we can." Ghali's complaint for an injunction against the revocation of his license states, "DPR and the Board are causing Dr. Ghali irreparable harm. They are preventing him from practicing medicine and from earning a livelihood. They are preventing him from caring for his patients and from honoring other commitments and obligations related to his practice. They are causing irreparable damage to his reputation among his patients, in the community and in his profession." Eventually, though, Florida was successful in revoking Ghali's license, and he left the state. (Dade County Case No. 88-19636)

His Old Kentucky Home <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ghali reappeared briefly in Kentucky, of all places, where he had gotten into such hot water over obstetric cases -- and over his relationship with his goddaughter. There, he resumed harming patients.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A woman I'll call "Jamilla" was seeing a doctor John Khosh during her pregnancy. Khosh ordered an ultrasound to discover the cause of bleeding. When Jamilla called for the results, Khosh was unavilable, so Ghali, who was Khosh's partner, took over her case. Ghali told her that her uterus and fallopian tubes were empty, and that she should go back on her infertility medication. Jamilla resumed her medication as ordered, but experienced discomfort and fever. She called and reported this to Ghali, who advised her to continue taking the infertility medication.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A few days later, March 20, 1990, Jamilla was rushed to the hospital, in great pain. She required emergency surgery to remove an ectopic pregnancy. Her already impaired fertility was further impaired by the damage to her fallopian tube. (Cuyahoga County Court Case No. 215554)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After this brief appearance, Ghali has not, to my knowledge, reared his head again in Kentucky.

=<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">He Resurfaces Again = <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ghali was next spotted in Ohio, where he had opened Academy Medical Center. And he was just as great a danger to women as he'd ever been.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A woman I'll call "Vonnie" said that she had an abortion done by Ghali on July 27, 1991, at Academy. On August 16, while she was at a restaurant, she expelled fetal parts. Vonnie was hospitalized and had a D&C to remove more retained tissues. (The Cleveland Free Times January 20-26, 1993; Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Case No 245525)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A 29-year-old patient I'll call "Susan" told reporters that she had an abortion performed by Ghali at Academy on November 9, 1992. Later, while she was at home, the "leg and the stomach of the baby dropped out." She called Ghali, who told her not to go to a hospital, but she did anyway. They performed a D&C to remove retained tissue. Susan sued Ghali, saying she'd rather see Ghali shut down than win her lawsuit. (The Cleveland Free Times January 20-26, 1993)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The most detailed account I've found on Ghali's behavior at Academy is in a lawsuit by a 17-year-old girl I'll call "Brittany." Brittany said that she had an abortion done by Ghali at Academy on February 11, 1991, when she was 23 weeks pregnant. The skull of the fetus was left inside her body, and she hemorrhaged. She was transferred by ambulance to a hospital for a transfusion and surgery. Another doctor’s review of the case called Brittany's treatment "far below the standard of care that is customary in any area of this country." He cites the following deficiencies: "There is essentially no note and no details of what was done in order to perform this abortion. It appears from reading the entire chart ... that some type of suction or extraction utilized in order to terminate the pregnancy. The patient had a uterus that was 22 to 24 weeks in size. This type of maneuver in a uterus that size is dangerous, and life threatening." He added, "In an attempt to remove the fetal parts, the uterus was ruptured and the head extruded into the abdominal cavity. The rupture and the following consequences...were certainly all part of a horrible chain of events which demonstrate the severe departure from any acceptable standard of care. ... The patient was sent to St. Luke's Hospital and apparently no written information was provided in the transfer... The patient was in severe distress. ... She required immediate stabilization, transfusions, and from the notes provided by St. Luke's Hospital, there did not seem to be a thorough understanding of what had happened in the abortion clinic. ... It is my opinion that this entire case demonstrates a severe life-threatening departure from all acceptable standards of medical care..." Ghali had no medical malpractice insurance since 1986, and moved for an order preventing Brittany from discovering his financial status. (The Cleveland Free Times January 20-26, 1993; Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Case No. 230925)

=<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Where I Came In = <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It was while Ghali was in Ohio that I became involved in his case. A law enforcement officer contacted Life Dynamics, reporting that they'd arrested Ghali at Academy. He was practicing without a licnese and sexually assaulting his patients. The officer wanted help to get Ghali's bail denied.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I prepared a dossier on Ghali, with a summary of his malpractice history and of his sexual abuse of children. The summary was faxed to the officer, and substantiating documentation overnighted to Ohio so that it would be there in time for Ghali's bail hearing.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">According to a July 21, 1998 article in the //Arizona Republic//, Ghali wasn't alone at Academy. Also working there was John Biskind, the abortionist who was in the news in Arizona after two patients died (Lou Anne Herron and Lisa Bardsley) and he attempted to abort a nearly-term infant. A lawuist alleged that Biskind conspired with Ghali to defraud and mislead women. More than 50 women came forward to claim that Ghali had performed abortions on them after his license had been invalidated, and that he had sexually assaulted them during the three years he was operating Adademy.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We were pleased to hear that Ghali's bail was set at $6 million, and began referring to him among ourselves as "The Six Million Dollar Man." But to our chagrin -- and the chagrin of the law enforcement officer who'd requested our help -- Ghali plea-bargained, and was sentenced to a total of six months in prison. With time served, that meant he would remain behind bars only two more months. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That's the last I've heard of Ghali -- that he'd been released from prison. I don't know where he is, but wherever he is, I bet he's probably still doing abortions. He doesn't seem to be able to quit.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you know anything about Ghali's whereabouts and current activities, please email me.

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